Roadside or right-of-way markers are quite common on today's highways, particularly at locations at which the driver is called upon to execute a turn, such as at a bend in the road or, and perhaps more importantly, at exit ramps or the like from high-speed highways, where the driver not only executes a relatively sharp turn but is also required to decrease the speed of the vehicle and prepare for merging with traffic on the crossroad to which the exit leads.
Such roadway markers commonly comprise a rigid upright post of a substantially U-shaped central cross-section with wing-like side portions, with the bottom portion being driven into the ground for support, and with a suitable reflector mounted on the upper portion facing the oncoming traffic to be directed thereby. Such reflectors are commonly given a suitable color, such as amber, not only for reflecting the light from the headlights of approaching vehicles at night, but also to render the posts more visible in daylight. In the more common version of these roadway posts, the center section of the substantially U-shaped channel portion includes a plurality of holes therein spaced along the length of the post, and one or more of these holes serve as a means for mounting one or more reflectors on such posts.
Roadway posts of this type, used primarily to delineate the outer limits of a right-of-way at a bend or turn therein, are commonly positioned in the earth at the side of a roadway, usually at a distance of a few feet or a few yards beyond the shoulder of the roadway. Yet, in spite of this distance away from the usual path of vehicular traffic, such roadway posts are often subjected to impact by passing vehicles which leave the road and cross over the shoulders thereof as a result, for example, of a skid on wet or icy pavement, or due to a sudden turn to avoid a collision, or, and perhaps more commonly, as a result of improper control due to sleepiness or intoxication on the part of the driver. It is a common sight along today's highways to see tire skid marks leading to a plurality of bent, mangled and destroyed roadway posts. The costs of repair and replacement of such posts, both for materials and labor, have risen to an alarming level.